The sad thing is that it affects us as humans. I see people all the time shunning their fellow man simply because of opposing political ideology, or even the perception of opposing views. A good example is John Cuzack. John is a good guy, a Democrat and a concerned citizen. A couple of weeks ago he tweeted that he read an interesting article by Tom Engelhardt about how the Office of the President has become “imperial” to the point that the president can order someone killed at any time. The article wasn’t a direct slam on the president; in fact it went into detail about how the office started to change after 9/11, and how the Bush administration made changes. Obama simply inherited these new powers, but he’s also expanded them to give himself even more control.
Cuzack wasn’t saying anything bad against the president; he was just saying the article was interesting and that perhaps the Office of the President has become almost king-like instead of an office of serving the people and there needs to be accountability.
Well, the response he got was mixed, but I was really surprised at the number of liberals who attacked John because they didn’t care what the article really said, they just saw something they deemed negative about Obama so they tweeted that they didn’t know Cuzack was a Republican and they wouldn’t follow him anymore, even though he had been on their top 10 follow list.
Huh? So you love John Cuzack, watch his movies and follow him on Twitter, but he posts a link to an article saying that presidential powers are getting out of control, and you decide that he can’t possibly just be a concerned citizen, but that he must be a Republican… so now you hate him.
This is just an example of what goes on today. We have become a nation of two camps: Democrats and Republicans, and people try to force you into one of these camps even if you’re like me and claim no political affiliation. I see them on TV sizing up people by asking the hot-button questions, “are you for gay marriage,” and “do you believe in gun control.” If you answer yes to these questions they put you in Camp Democrat; but a negative response will get you put into the Republican camp. Once they have you in a camp they know whose side you’re on and whether or not they like you. They don’t care who you really are inside, they base their entire opinion of you on the camp they’ve put you in. You can be the nicest person on the planet, but once you’re put into a camp you’re labeled for prosecution by the other side.
A good example of this is the 2009 Academy Awards. Every year they present a montage of Hollywood industry folks who have died the past year. The amount of applause that occurs as each picture is displayed is a good indicator of the actor’s industry popularity. Well that year Charlton Heston’s picture was shown, and the room was almost silent. Now, this is a man who brought us iconic pictures like Ben Hur, The Ten Commandments, and the Sci-Fi epic Planet of the Apes. He won a ton of awards, including the Jean Hersholt Academy Award for his humanitarian work. He was a consummate actor and good guy, but the room was almost silent. Why? Because Charlton had been put into the Republican camp and this wasn’t acceptable to mainstream Hollywood. Instead of revering him for his amazing contributions to their craft and his humanitarian work, they shunned him over politics.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: the single greatest threat to the safety and prosperity of this country is Republicans and Democrats. Well, there's the Tea Party too, but as far as I can tell the Tea Party is just a bunch of disgruntled Republicans. I have certain views from both conservative and liberal camps that I agree with, but I refuse to be pushed into a camp. Politics and politicians are all the same in the end, so I choose to not participate in a party.
I vote for the person who most closely believes in the kind of America I want to live in.
There’s no perfect candidate and it’s a forgone conclusion that the two main parties are too big and strong to not get elected, so unfortunately I have to choose one of their candidates or my vote is wasted, and I refuse to abstain from voting. It would be irresponsible of me and all of you as citizens of this free country to ignore the election process.
We can’t help but get some of the political rancor on us. It’s everywhere and I don’t think any of us will completely go unscathed. Politics, liberal, conservative, racism, reverse racism, poor, rich, black, white, media, blogging... I'm just tired of all the hatred.
“God, sometimes it’s a bit depressing to watch as my fellow countrymen spend their time hating each other instead of using their skills to help one another. I ask for patience to handle this, and wisdom as we prepare to vote later this year. Thanks.”
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